Jayson Tatum believes his teammate in the Boston Celtics Marcus Smart deserves to be named Defensive Player of the Year.
“It might sound biased, but I might give it to Marcus Smart. I feel like lately all the guys that have won have been big men, and rightfully so. Rudy Gobert’s won it a couple of times.
I play with Smart, so I see him night in and night out and the effort he gives, and he guards 1 through 5. Any time he switches on a big man, it’s not like we gotta go double-team him. He always makes plays, and he’s been doing it for I think six or seven years now,” Tatum told Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report.
Smart was averaging 13.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.6 steals per game in 53 appearances this season.
